The Diverse Regulation of Transcription in Endogenous Retroviruses

Dear Colleagues,

Vertebrate genomes harbor thousands of endogenous retrovirus (ERV) loci, which originate as irreversible insertions of retroviral proviruses into germline DNA. Despite the accumulation of inactivating mutations, ERVs often retain features of proviruses, including partial or complete coding sequences and cis- and trans-acting regulatory elements. Residence in the genome also means that ERVs are subject to regulation by a variety of cellular processes such as epigenetic modification, transcription factor binding, and RNA interference. There are examples of ERV loci that play a role in both normal and abnormal cellular gene expression, and it is likely that ERVs have contributed in various ways to the evolution of genome structure, gene regulation, and organismal development. Consequently, ERV expression is attracting interest from researchers across the full range of biological disciplines. However, there are significant technical challenges unique to studying ERVs, and the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of the ERV research community highlights the need to develop standards for nomenclature, methodology and interpretation.

This Special Issue invites submissions related to ERV regulation, transcription and expression or the interplay between ERVs and host gene regulation, including work on human ERVs (HERVs) and ERVs of other organisms. Relevant studies of endogenous retroelements or LTR-retrotransposons are also welcome.

Prof. Dr. Welkin Johnson
Dr. Zachary H. Williams
Guest Editors

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• endogenous retrovirus (ERV)
• human endogenous retrovirus (HERV)
• HERV-K
• long terminal repeat (LTR)
• retrotransposon
• exaptation
• transcriptional silencing
• piRNA
• gene regulatory network
• pluripotency
• chromatin
• methylation